Inspired by: the life of Cathay Williams, the first African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army.

What happens: After describing her life in bondage, Williams recounts how she became Union Army "contraband" during the Civil War and how, disguised as a man, she later served as Buffalo soldier "William Cathay."

You might also like: James McBride's The Good Lord Bird; Paulette Jiles' The Color of Lightning.

What it's about: In 1830, 11-year-old enslaved child George Washington Black -- a.k.a. "Wash" -- is hired out as a manservant to Christopher "Titch" Wilde, an inventor who needs the boy's help to test his hot-air balloon. Everything goes wrong, and that's just the beginning.

Reviewers say:"strong, beautiful and beguiling" (The Guardian)

Book Buzz: This novel by acclaimed Canadian author Esi Edugyan (Half-Blood Blues) was recently shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

What it's about: When London merchant Jonah Hancock becomes the owner of a mummified "mermaid" specimen, his decision to display it publicly results in some colorful new acquaintances, including brothel madam Mrs. Chappell and beguiling courtesan Angelica Neal.

Read it for: well-developed characters; witty, period-appropriate dialogue; and a vividly drawn setting that captures the sights, sounds, and smells of 18th-century London.

For fans of: the panoramic view of British society in Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White.

What it's about: Dreams of musical stardom lead orphaned Dores and privileged Graça to run away from their convent school and head to Rio, where they immerse themselves in samba. From there, they head to 1940s Hollywood, where Graça reinvents herself as "Brazilian Bombshell" Sofia Salvador and Dores pursues a songwriting career.

Want a taste? "Being a woman is always a performance; only the very old and very young are allowed to bow out of it. The rest must play our parts with vigor but seemingly without effort."

Introducing: Seamstress May Bedloe and her cousin, actress Comfort Vertue.

What it's about: After surviving a steamship explosion, the women follow separate paths: Comfort becomes a speaker on the abolitionist circuit, while May joins a riverboat theater troupe and is blackmailed into ferrying enslaved children across the Ohio River to freedom.

Publication history:The Underground River was originally published in the United Kingdom as The Floating Theater.

What happens: A junior member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Richard leaps at the chance to prove himself when the company's scripts are stolen by a rival playhouse. Meanwhile, Puritans would shut down every theater in London if they could.

Author alert: Known for fast-paced, action-packed series about soldiers (Sharpe) and warriors (Saxon Stories), Bernard Cornwell shifts gears in this stand-alone, which brings to life the world of Elizabethan theater.

What it's about: Shortly after a fire consumes the Church of Marvels, their mother's Coney Island sideshow, teen sword-swallower Belle Church disappears, prompting her twin sister, Odile, to search for her.

Why you might like it: This richly detailed novel, set in a gritty 1895 New York City, takes place within a 24-hour period and contains four interwoven storylines.

You might also like: Alice Hoffman's The Museum of Extraordinary Things.

What it's about: Lilly Blackwood, a nine-year-old with albinism, becomes a sideshow attraction after her mother sells her to a traveling circus. In a parallel narrative, set 25 years later in the 1950s, 19-year-old Julia Blackwood investigates her family history.

Why you might like it:The Life She Was Given introduces resilient young protagonists thrust into difficult circumstances and provides a well-researched depiction of circus life during the Great Depression.